Chapter 176

Chapter 176. Dr. Kim and the Seven (4)

****

Hasti looked around.

The storm was still pouring down from all directions. The stronghold Hasti had decided to protect was here—the central headquarters of the Anomalous Phenomena Response Bureau.

According to Dr. Kim’s plan, Hasti was supposed to wear a gas mask and pretend to be Dr. Kim. Well… it didn’t seem easy.

Hasti fiddled with the radio.

“Uh, this is Dr. Kim.”

What would Dr. Kim have said?

“Uh… There will be sacrifices in war, but I will protect you all. I wish you good luck in today’s battle. Thank you.”

Hasti swung her staff around.

Her condition was top-notch.

The augmented reality combat assist system in her helmet, the staff created by the Foundation using every possible means, and the mana generator ensured her power was overflowing.

Today’s goal was to protect the Anomalous Phenomena Response Bureau headquarters.

The Bureau was the Seoul Branch’s strongest ally and one of the pillars maintaining the nation. If the Bureau fell, the nation would fall with it.

Hasti didn’t fully understand, but Dr. Kim’s plan was like that. Protecting one building from the enemy shouldn’t be impossible.

“Thousand Eyes.”

A black sphere appeared above Hasti’s head and scanned the surroundings. Enemy soldiers were starting to appear around the headquarters.

[Engagement. Commence firing.]

“Thousand Eyes.”

“Detection.”

“Arcane Beam.”

On the rooftop of the Bureau headquarters.

Hasti’s Thousand Eyes scanned the area, and something like a laser made of dark blue mana shot toward the direction where the enemy was detected.

The entire Bureau grounds were within Hasti’s sphere of influence. The mage was prepared. For now, this was Hasti’s domain and her magic tower.

The building was already prepared.

Hasti had drawn a barrier around the building since yesterday, installed artifacts made of obsidian, and even placed golems to protect the facility.

Boom!

An explosion sounded from one side of the headquarters. Smoke rose from the direction of the explosion. The enemy was preparing to enter the branch.

Hasti gripped her staff tightly.

“Commence battle.”

Above Hasti’s head, a pitch-black eye looked around, like an eyeball searching for something.

****

Ninetail.

One of the Foundation’s strongest combat groups, primarily tasked with resolving internal issues within the Foundation.

They were a special forces team that handled tasks other teams and the Foundation’s hounds couldn’t.

And.

Vixen, the leader of Special Forces Ninetail, looked up at the Bureau headquarters. It would be fortunate if Dr. Kim was here, but what if he wasn’t?

“This is Ninetail-1. It’s a siege.”

[Korean Anomalous Phenomena Response Bureau headquarters.]

“Can we bomb it?”

[We’ll do our best. The headquarters isn’t far from the city center, so our options are limited.]

“It’s a bit tough for us to handle the siege alone. If the missile bombardment weakens the enemy’s defenses, we’ll enter through the rooftop. There’s something on the rooftop that’s presumed to be Dr. Kim.”

Given that it’s a top-tier female esper, it’s highly likely to be Dr. Kim. According to intercepted communications, the enemy also referred to that presence as Dr. Kim.

Vixen sighed.

This battle wouldn’t be easy. There were already double-digit infantry fighting vehicles stationed near the headquarters.

The headquarters itself was built like a bunker. Dr. Kim was positioned on the rooftop, and who knows how many soldiers were inside the building.

Just looking at it, the goal seemed impossible. But the target was Dr. Kim, and Dr. Kim was just standing on the rooftop outside the building.

All they had to do was get to the rooftop and kill Dr. Kim. Suppressing the Bureau or opening a teleportation gate was a secondary issue.

The missiles would arrive in a few minutes.

****

Hasti gritted her teeth.

Dozens of portable anti-air defense systems surrounded the headquarters. Multiple close-defense weapon systems were also in place.

To top it off, electronic warfare equipment was deployed across various points in the city. The problem was the weather.

Would the storm make it harder or easier to intercept incoming missiles?

Missiles aren’t immune to weather effects, after all. Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of massive explosions erupted above. Hasti’s black eyeballs looked up at the sky. But countermeasures were already in place.

A purple Arcane Beam lit up the sky.

– Miss Hasti. Most magic is too slow to counter bullets or missiles. Except for one thing—light-based magic.

The black beam fired by Hasti’s Thousand Eyes wasn’t exactly “light,” strictly speaking.

But it was fast enough. Magic at a speed capable of intercepting bullets and missiles.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of missiles being intercepted mid-air was louder than any thunder. Still, thanks to the electronic warfare equipment and the storm, the enemy’s missiles couldn’t even get close to the headquarters.

****

Vixen cursed.

Honestly, she hadn’t expected much. The Foundation’s Seoul Branch and the nation’s combined strength had created a massive bunker. It wouldn’t collapse from a few missiles.

“This is Ninetail-1. Under the cover of smoke, we’ll scale the walls of the headquarters to the rooftop and suppress Dr. Kim. Eliminate Dr. Kim, destroy the Bureau, subdue the nation, and open a teleportation gate inside the bunker to call for reinforcements.”

That was the plan.

“Then. Begin the operation.”

The missile bombardment wasn’t entirely ineffective. The aftermath of the bombing had scattered smoke and dust everywhere, limiting visibility.

If they could just suppress Dr. Kim, it would all be over. Special Forces Ninetail advanced toward the headquarters.

The pitch-black eye turned its gaze toward Ninetail. So did the other soldiers nearby.

Every window of the headquarters was a machine gun nest. Vixen charged forward.

The firepower was stronger than expected. Bullets flew from all directions, and powerful magic poured down from the rooftop. If this kept up, they’d die.

Another missile exploded above the headquarters.

Getting to the rooftop shouldn’t be too hard. Ninetail members began climbing the outer walls of the headquarters building toward the rooftop—

[It’s a polyp!]

A polyp? What’s a polyp? Vixen frowned, but visibility was short due to the fog, storm, and dust kicked up by the missiles.

Flying polyps. Formless, grotesque monsters were climbing up the building walls like centipedes. Vixen pulled out a flashbang.

They hated light. They hadn’t brought the most effective countermeasure—optical weapons.

Whether they could fire a laser gun in this weather was questionable. Dr. Kim had good sense.

A guardian with no countermeasure.

Anyway. Vixen emptied her magazine into the face of a flying polyp. It didn’t die, but it stopped flying and fell.

Success so far.

The rooftop of the headquarters was wider than expected. Ninetail members who had reached the rooftop aimed their guns at Hasti in the center.

“Surrender, Dr. Kim.”

“Uh, yeah! I’m Dr. Kim!”

The monster screamed. It wore a strangely shaped helmet, carried a breathing apparatus, and was fully equipped in mission-protective gear from head to toe, even with a cape.

Instead of a gun, it held a staff.

Vixen, the leader of Ninetail, sighed inwardly. This wasn’t Dr. Kim. Anyway, they had surrounded it—

“Open fire!”

Ninetail surrounded the monster, and a grenade hit the staff-wielding monster.

With the explosion, boom! The monster was pushed back but didn’t fall, bracing itself with one hand on the ground.

Dark purple mana rose near the staff. Around Hasti, several ring-shaped defensive magic circles flickered.

Hasti slid forward in a charge.

****

Acacia’s command center.

“What’s going on, where’s Misteltein?”

“Annihilated. The surviving Misteltein-4 turned off their radio and fled somewhere.”

Acacia sighed.

The atmosphere in Acacia’s command center was quite gloomy. They were losing, after all.

“We were supposed to win.”

“A lot has deviated from the plan.”

“What about Dr. Kim?”

“We couldn’t capture him. It seems the one fighting Special Forces Misteltein wasn’t Dr. Kim.”

“No, this doesn’t make sense.”

“The Misteltein team was blocked by a Pygmalion Series entity. We heard Dr. Kim borrowed the power of several divine entities, so we brought means to block divine power—”

But that wasn’t it. The Misteltein team leader and the swordsman were beaten to death. Weapons to kill gods, reality anchors—none of it mattered.

They had prepared various means to seal supernatural abilities, but supernatural abilities weren’t the problem from the start.

A sword to slay gods, sorcery to bind gods. They brought everything, but the Pygmalion entity put down the sword and beat the special forces to death.

“What about the ghosts? The Royal Guard? Ninetail?”

“Still in combat.”

“Alright. If we suppress Dr. Kim or the Foundation’s allies are subdued, we’ll deploy troops.”

The second phase of the offensive plan had two directions. They could deploy airborne troops from the Pyongyang Branch, which Acacia occupied.

If Ninetail secured a stronghold, they could open a teleportation gate and deploy a large number of personnel.

Acacia closed her eyes tightly. Misteltein’s failure was bitter, but this was still within controllable limits.